If you’re looking for a food that epitomizes winter comfort, the soft cornmeal mush of Italy is just the thing. With a little butter and a hefty grating of Parmigiano Reggiano, you can’t help but lick the pan as you would a bowl of brownie batter. Having been raised on cheese grits, I make polenta with more cheese than most people do, and I use milk for half the liquid, which also makes it richer. I have tried stirring in mascarpone and goat cheese, and while I like the flavor, I prefer the salty, nutty roundness of the parmesan.

While the polenta you buy in the grocery store is perfectly serviceable, if you want polenta with a true corn taste, order from Anson Mills in South Carolina. If you’ve eaten polenta or grits at one of the nicer restaurants in Boulder, odds are that’s where they came from.

While polenta often gets a meaty topping, it also can easily go vegetarian. Marinara sauce and cheese is traditional. I prefer tomatoes roasted with a generous dollop of olive oil — if you have some late season stragglers you rescued from your garden, you could hardly put them to better use.

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Another way to go with polenta is deeply flavored, earthy mushrooms. One great thing about a meatless meal is that since you aren’t buying any animal protein, you can splurge on some special mushrooms. In this dish, I used ¼ cremini, ¼ shiitakes and ½ maitake, one of my favorites. I kept it simple, just sauteeing the mushrooms in a combination of butter and olive oil, with onions and garlic and sprinkling over a few drops of lemon juice to brighten the flavors at the end.

Originally, I planned to fry an egg for the top, but with the rich flavor of the polenta and mushrooms, that seemed a little much. If much, is what you’re looking for, go for the egg. Cook it runny to make an unctuous sauce.

Speaking of sauce, if you’d prefer to make a mushroom ragu, you can add stock (the soaking liquid from dried porcinis is excellent for this purpose) and reduce it and even add a touch of cream. But for me just the mushrooms themselves are enough. It isn’t a fancy meal, but it’s rustic, hearty, earthy and so satisfying — the perfect meal for a snowy evening.

Directions: Bring milk, water and salt to a boil. Reduce heat. Add polenta a little at a time, whisking vigorously to incorporate. Cook on low heat, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. When it has reach the desired thickness (about 30 minutes), remove from heat. Add butter, cheese and pepper, and adjust seasoning.

Wipe dirt from mushrooms with a damp paper towel and chop the larger mushrooms in half or quarters. Add olive oil and butter to a heated skillet -- cast iron is good for this -- and saute finely chopped onion until it begins to caramelize. Add more oil if necessary and the mushrooms and salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat until the mushrooms begin to brown and give up their moisture. Grate in garlic clove using a Microplane. Continue to cook until the mushroom liquid is reduced. Squeeze a little lemon juice over, if using.

Serve over polenta and garnish with chives or other fresh herbs such as Italian parsley.

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